Komura to attend ASEAN+3, ARF in Singapore, no plan for N. Korea talks+

TOKYO, July 15 Kyodo - Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura will attend the foreign ministerial talks in Singapore next week with ASEAN, China and South Korea as well as a regional security meeting, but has no plans to meet on the sidelines with his North Korean counterpart, the ministry said Tuesday.

But Japan's chief delegate at six-nation talks on North Korea's
denuclearization process, Akitaka Saiki, and his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye Gwan are arranging to meet in Singapore during the occasion, government sources said.

Following the July 22-24 meetings related to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Komura will head for Vietnam from Singapore on July 25 for bilateral talks to discuss measures to prevent any recurrence of the collapse of a Japanese-financed bridge under construction in Vietnam last September.

Komura, scheduled to arrive in Singapore on Monday, will attend the so-called ASEAN-plus-three foreign ministerial talks and an East Asia Summit foreign ministerial meeting on July 22, followed by a Japan-ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting the next day, and the ASEAN Regional Forum on July 24, the ministry said.

''We would like to take this opportunity to exchange views on cooperation in East Asia and regional and international affairs,'' Press Secretary Kazuo Kodama told a news conference. ''There is currently no plan for (bilateral) talks with the North Korean foreign minister, but arrangements for talks with other foreign ministers are under way.''

Japan is eager to seek concrete progress on North Korea's recent promise to reinvestigate cases of its past abductions of Japanese nationals, after little ground was gained in the last round of six-party talks that wrapped up Saturday in Beijing.

Saiki is also likely to meet with his U.S. counterpart Christopher Hill during his stay in Singapore, the sources said.

Separately, Deputy Press Secretary Tomohiko Taniguchi indicated that Komura will likely meet one-on-one with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on the sidelines, saying it would be ''very natural'' for such a bilateral meeting to take place.

U.S. Department of State spokesman Sean McCormack said in Washington on Monday that Rice will attend the ARF talks in Singapore. Rice, who did not attend last year's ARF, will be taking part for the first time since the July 2006 meeting.

Asked if Rice may meet on the sidelines with her six-party counterparts, McCormack said, ''Entirely possible.''

The ASEAN meetings, coming just after Japan's hosting of the Group of Eight summit last week, will also be a ''good opportunity'' for the region's neighbors to confirm the importance of jointly tackling climate change, Taniguchi said.

Komura is expected to use the occasion to promote support for the G-8's call at the summit for the world to ''share'' the vision of halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Taniguchi added that discussions on the World Trade Organization's stalled free trade negotiations, as well as North Korea's denuclearization, are expected to be taken up at the series of talks.

Komura's trip will also come amid growing tensions between Japan and South Korea over Tokyo's decision on Monday to mention two disputed islets for the first time in a teaching guideline for junior high schools.

Whether South Korea, which has strongly protested the move, will take up the issue at the occasion will be another focus of attention.

The 10-member ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. They are joined by Japan, China and South Korea in the ASEAN-plus-three talks.

The East Asia Summit involves these 13 nations with Australia, New Zealand and India. Meanwhile, the ARF brings together these 16 as well as Canada, North Korea, Russia, the United States, the European Union and others.